Kenya Airways’s subsidiary Fahari Aviation has announced a partnership with Kipkebe Ltd. The latter is a subsidiary of Sasini PLC, and the deal will see Sasini improve its precision agricultural services.
In this case, Fahari Aviation will use drone technology will apply drone technology on tea farms to offer services such as chemical spraying and fertilizer application.
Besides, Kipkebe farm will be used to benchmark the effectiveness of drone use with a possibility to expand the service offering to other Sasini estates.
High-capacity drones will be used to service more than 3000 acres of tea plantation. The work, according to a statement from the two companies, can be done in under a week. This will reportedly save 50 percent on cost and time efficiency in fertilizer application.
Also, drone technology in agriculture also offers better accountability of product supply as well as improved accessibility of tough terrains.
Fahari Aviation is responsible for launching and implementing future aviation technologies and is part of the airline’s strategy of contributing to the sustainable development of Africa by championing new dimensions within the industry with the use of drones and unmanned aircraft.
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Speaking on the signed agreement, Hawkins Musili, General Manager at Fahari Aviation said,” Agriculture forms the backbone of our economy, and drones have revolutionized agriculture by offering farmers major cost savings, and enhanced efficiency within the region. We are proud to announce this agreement as Fahari Aviation seeks to reach new heights for more precise applications within the agricultural sector.”
Silas Njibwakale, Managing Director at Kipkebe Limited said, “We are indeed very excited to partner with Fahari Aviation, who is a pioneer of the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology in the country, in the application of fertilizer on our tea fields using drones. As a leading agricultural enterprise, Kipkebe is uniquely positioned to lead our industry towards the future of sustainable farming due to a rich heritage, commitment to innovation, learning and continuous improvement.”